A century ago in the United States, the public transportation system was the envy of most of the world. Today, outside a few major urban centers, most of the surviving systems are barely able to organize stable operations and become self-sustaining. Even in New York City, subway ridership today falls short of the peak of its popularity in 1946. Annual passenger trips per capita in the United States fell from 115.8 in 1950 to 36.1 in 1970, remaining roughly the same to this day even though the population has grown.
This has not happened in the rest of the world. Despite the decline in the popularity of public transport in the face of fierce competition from the automobile over the past century, a complete collapse was still avoided. At the turn of the 20th century, when the only competition for transportation companies was man’s or horse’s feet, they worked well enough even if they encountered difficulties. After the mass motorization of the population began, almost every U.S. transportation operator cut finances to maintain and reduce their costs, rather than improve service and remain competitive. This decision has alienated even more passengers, so few Americans today ride buses or trains when there is an alternative.
Below is a set of maps showing modern rail and bus networks operating at intervals of no more than 30 minutes, all day until midnight, seven days a week for five urban areas in the United States and one in Canada for comparison. They can be seen as the minimum level of service necessary for people to live in a city without a personal car. In fact, studies show that when transportation intervals are up to 15 minutes, the biggest jumps in passenger traffic occur (the same rush hour) because people use transportation without scheduling coordination. But this is not the case in most American cities, as thirty-minute or more intervals are the standard of service on public transportation.
Maps illustrate vast urban areas untouched by bus routes. For those who live near its route, it is likely that the bus will not take them where they need to go, unless their destination is downtown. A bus that runs once an hour, ends at 7 p.m., and does not run on Sundays is a typical level of service in many American cities that limits people’s lives, forcing potential passengers to use the automobile.
What happened? Over the last hundred years, the most obvious reason is this: transportation companies in the U.S. have continually cut their services in a vain attempt to reduce their losses. But, unfortunately, they have only succeeded in reducing the popularity of public transportation in U.S. cities. When the transportation services that cities provide are not attractive, then passenger demand naturally falls and it cannot justify these very “improvements” to reduce costs.